As our company recently celebrated 10 years of industry-changing impact, the entire team presented the Founding 5ers with one of the most thoughtful and energizing gifts to recognize this important milestone, the 5X Yearbook. Starting with a letter from employee number one, Cady Thomas, and continuing through each year with letters from the entire team in start-date order, this hardcover masterpiece shares the individual journeys and gratitude of each 5er. The reflections are complemented by over 300 pictures of special moments in 5’s history, from surprise events at our annual All Hands meetings to personal photos spotlighting 5’s impact in each of our lives.

“If not me, then who? If not now, then when?” Ray Anderson, Founder of Interface.

Throughout the evolution of any great company, there are hallmark moments that define each new chapter. These experiences often serve as fuel for the company’s new trajectory and become a reference point for the team’s future work and ultimate impact. Our team experienced one of these catalyzing moments in mid-November during a screening of Beyond Zero that concluded with a live Q&A with the film’s writer and director, Nathan Havey.

5 was formed with a higher purpose – to Help People.

That sounds overly simplistic. The natural tendency is to try to enhance this statement by adding a set of modifiers and details that highlight our impact related to energy and sustainability. We have tried on countless occasions to expand our mission and always find our way back to this visionary (and audacious) mindset that our company, teammates, technology, intellect, and passion are synthesized at 5 simply to Help People.

Even prior to the last 18-months of social distancing frustrations and video call exhaustion, most organizations conducted meetings that were sorely lacking in creativity, energy, and inspiration. If you take a moment to reflect on your meetings this past year (and in the years prior) how many of them felt like a wash, rinse and repeat version of every other meeting? For the most part, each of the participants in a meeting show up with their predictable patterns of engagement and the group tackles issues and opportunities with a tunnel-vision approach.

Since 5’s humble beginnings, we have continuously challenged conventional wisdom and explored alternative paths to create breakthrough results for others. We explore different methods and angles to every new issue or opportunity, brainstorming and celebrating fresh ideas along the way. One of the most fundamental, simple, and yet innovative discoveries in our business has been our team-based approach to almost everything. We extract such a tremendous amount of value from our team’s connectedness and diversity that we even made t-shirts that read “There is no ‘i’ in 5 (the number not the word).” Hopefully, you get the joke in that statement…

Too often I hear business leaders try to separate great work culture from peak performance. Since many people have never worked for an award-winning, certified Great Place to Work, lack the firsthand experience to understand the key elements and drivers of great company culture. Instead of recognizing the core tenets of intentional culture building, including clearly articulated values, common vision, individual autonomy, integrity, appropriate risk-taking, accountability, excellence, dignified communication, shared experience, and the power of teamwork, people believe that gimmicky office accessories, like ping pong tables and beer taps, are the signs of good culture. That is simply not true.

How did Luthin Associates successfully assimilate into 5?

We found ourselves reflecting on the successful integration of 5 and Luthin Associates from a cultural standpoint with this week’s announcement of 5’s enhanced website experience that now combines the knowledge, tools, and passion from each of our brands. In just over two years, we have been able to take two very strong, client-centric organizations and leverage the best aspects of each to deliver best-in-class solutions to all stakeholders. After seeing so many mergers and acquisitions either fall apart or fail to produce meaningful value for clients and employees alike, we are compelled to share a few of the key actions we took to ensure a smooth transition that resulted in a win-win for all parties. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, here are five highlights of the process:

Shared experiences drive deep human connection in the workplace. 5’s book club is one of the most impactful ways that we orchestrate these meaningful moments for our team. When we gather to review, discuss, and debate each new book, we begin to form a unique vernacular and a deeper understanding of each other’s perspectives. Our conversations, about the book and subsequently about our business, create new avenues for organizational development and personal fulfillment.

Changing the way businesses approach their overall energy strategy, while simultaneously raising the bar for the entire deregulated power industry, is an audacious goal. When we started 5, we knew that we would need to be intentional about every aspect of our culture to make an impact of this magnitude, starting with The 5 Values.